In this guide
When to start the application
Beijing international schools run a northern-hemisphere year that begins in mid-August, so the working timeline for a September 2026 cohort runs through the preceding autumn and winter. The priority window opens around September 2025. Popular entry years, typically Reception and the early primary grades alongside Year 7, are often closed to new applications by January, and senior IB Diploma places by spring. After that, schools move to a rolling model and release remaining seats until term starts. The takeaway is that the early deadlines are soft but decisive: missing them rarely closes the city, but it routinely closes a specific school or year group. For the full window detail see our Beijing admissions deadlines 2026 page.
Build a realistic shortlist
Beijing rewards a portfolio rather than a single application. Aim for two or three schools you would be delighted to join, plus one with known rolling availability in your child's year as a back-up. Shortlist by curriculum first, then district, then fees, because Beijing's leading campuses are spread between Shunyi in the north-east and Chaoyang closer to the centre. Established names include the International School of Beijing and Dulwich College Beijing in Shunyi, and the Western Academy of Beijing in Chaoyang. For the IB route specifically, our IB curriculum hub explains how the Diploma intake differs from earlier entry, and our Beijing primary schools guide shows where the main clusters sit.
Step 1 · Confirm the year group is open
Before anything else, ask each shortlisted school whether your child's year group is open for the intended start and whether an enquiry counts as an application or only the paid form does. This single question prevents most wasted effort.
Step 2 · Book a tour
Most Beijing schools prefer that families visit before applying. Book a campus tour, a virtual tour or an introductory chat. The spring open-day season is busiest; our Beijing open days 2026 page lists confirmed dates.
The Beijing document checklist
The quiet step that delays more Beijing enrolments than any form is documentation. Schools require the child's birth certificate and the last two full school reports to be notarised and apostilled in the country that issued them, then translated into English or Chinese. Allow four to eight weeks for that chain, because an offer can stay provisional until the paperwork clears. You will also need current and previous passports for the child, parents' passports, a recent immunisation record and a passport photograph. Keep digital scans in one folder and bring paper originals to any in-person stage. Starting the apostille process the moment your move looks likely, rather than once it is confirmed, is the most reliable way to avoid a slipped start date.
Free Beijing admissions checklist
Our printable Beijing admissions checklist sets out every document, the apostille and translation order, and a realistic week-by-week timeline for an August start. Free with email and no sales follow-up. Request the checklist.
Assessments and what they look like
Beijing schools use a mix of standardised screening and school-specific tasks. Early Years and Grade 1 entry is usually a play-based observation session. From the middle of primary upwards, expect a short English reading and writing task and a maths paper, often alongside a cognitive abilities test that can be sat remotely under proctoring or on campus. Senior and sixth-form applicants typically face a subject paper in each chosen Higher Level or A-Level subject plus an interview. Prepare your child by being honest: it is a friendly assessment of fit, not an examination to cram for. A calm morning, sleep and breakfast matter far more than any preparation pack marketed for admissions.
Application, registration and fee timing
Most Beijing schools charge a non-refundable application fee when you apply. The International School of Beijing, for example, charges a non-refundable application fee of RMB 2,800. Registration and a deposit follow on offer acceptance, and tuition itself is billed by semester, with the larger invoice falling around the August restart. Because the application fee is rarely refundable, sequence your offers carefully: accepting at one school and then switching to another forfeits the first fee. Our guide to international school fees in Beijing sets out the bands and the billing rhythm in full.
Intake points and rolling places
Knowing each school's intake structure tells you where the real deadlines bite. Dulwich College Beijing publishes main intake points at preschool, Grade 1, Grade 6, Grade 9 and Grade 10, with a class maximum of 24, so entry concentrates at those grades. The International School of Beijing and the Western Academy of Beijing both add places on a rolling basis where available, which means an early file beats a late one for the same year group even without a fixed cut-off. If your target is a non-intake year, your application effectively joins a waiting list for a place to open.
The mistakes that lose places
First, starting the document chain late: apostille and translation are the slowest links and the only ones you cannot speed up at the school's end. Second, applying to a single school in a city that rewards a portfolio. Third, assuming rolling admission means a place is guaranteed; it only means there is no fixed deadline. Fourth, treating the assessment as a high-stakes exam, which makes children present worse than they are. Fifth, leaving the fee question vague, so an enquiry you thought was an application never actually started the clock. The school finder tool helps you shape an honest shortlist before you fill in a single form.
Frequently asked questions
When should I apply to international schools in Beijing?
Apply from around September of the year before your planned August start. Popular entry years such as Reception, Grade 1 and Year 7 often fill by January, and senior IB Diploma places by spring, after which schools offer remaining seats on a rolling basis until the start of term.
What documents do Beijing international schools require?
Expect to provide the child's birth certificate and the last two full school reports, notarised and apostilled in the issuing country and translated into English or Chinese, plus passports and an immunisation record. Allow four to eight weeks for the apostille and translation chain.
Is there an application fee for Beijing international schools?
Yes. Most schools charge a non-refundable application fee at the point of applying. The International School of Beijing, for example, charges a non-refundable application fee of RMB 2,800. Registration and deposit costs follow on offer acceptance.
Can my child start at a Beijing school mid-year?
Sometimes. Schools recommend an August start with peers, and many also accept a January second-semester entry. A mid-phase transfer into a non-intake year depends on a place opening up, so it is harder at schools that concentrate entry at defined grades.